Bracket Killer Kelly? Ducks coach knows how to turn an underdog into an NCAA women’s tournament winner

DURHAM, N.C. – Kelly Graves has coached a Final Four and four Elite Eight teams, and a potential NCAA champion whose shot was taken away by the pandemic.

But to many in women’s college basketball, Graves is Bracket Killer Kelly.

For as much as the Oregon coach is known for elite teams, he’s also the double-digit seed you don’t want to face in the NCAA Tournament. Such is the case Friday when No. 10 Oregon plays No. 7 Vanderbilt in a first-round game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

As a double-digit seed, Graves has won nine times during his 28-year career. Two of his Elite Eight teams made runs as double-digit seeds; No. 11 Gonzaga in 2011, and No. 10 Oregon in 2017.

In first-round games during his career, Graves is 4-3 when coaching a No. 10, 11 or 12 seed.

“You’ve just got to let it loose,” Graves said. “It’s kind of worked in the past. It’s nothing magical. I wish there was some secret sauce, but there’s not.”

Oregon assistant Jodie Berry, who has been with Graves the past 22 years, said this year’s team looks a lot like many of the underdog teams they’ve taken to the NCAAs.

“They’re just hungry,” she said. “I think a lot of them have been underdogs or have been doubted most of the time, their whole lives. A lot of these young women, they just come in ready to go.”

It didn’t start this way. Graves’ first NCAA tourney team was a 12 seed in Saint Mary’s in 1999. The Gaels narrowly lost to Notre Dame 61-57. Graves’ second NCAA trip came eight years later at Gonzaga, also as a 12 seed. The Bulldogs took a horrific first-round beating, losing to Middle Tennessee State by 39 points.

Berry called that 2007 loss the “springboard” to navigating the NCAA Tournament road. Of Gonzaga’s next four tournament trips, the Bulldogs won a collective six games as a double-digit seed (No. 11 twice, No. 12 once).

“A lot of times you get in front of really big lights, and that’s an eye-opening experience,” Berry said.

Graves’ most notable tournament runs as a double-digit seed came in 2011 at Gonzaga (11), and 2017 at Oregon (10). Both teams won three games before falling in the regional championship game. Graves said there was no mystery as to why those teams overcame their seeds.

“I had Courtney Vandersloot one year and Sabrina Ionescu the other year, running point,” Graves said. “That’s a good place to start.”

It’s not as if a switch flips for a low-seeded team once postseason starts. As Berry said, “you kind of are who are at this stage.” It’s more about mentality than a couple of new plays or better defense.

Of Graves’ 14 NCAA Tournament teams, he’s also had a couple of No. 2 seeds. Underdog or favorite, the approach doesn’t change in Graves’ mind.

“I’ve felt that we’ve kind of gone into every tournament the same. Even when you’re a (No.) 1 seed you’ve got to play with a nothing-to-lose attitude,” Graves said. “This time of year, the teams that play tight, they struggle because it is a bigger stage.”

Graves other approach that seems to be successful is put on blinders when the seeding comes out. All that matters is the Ducks are in the tournament, even if lower seeds generally play on the home floor of a higher seed during the opening rounds.

“We can’t worry about the seed,” Graves said. “We’re just going to have, hey, we go out and do the best we can kind of attitude. That has helped us in the past.”

It’s not lost on Oregon that this weekend it returns to the site the last time the Ducks were a double-digit seed. In 2017, No. 10-seeded Oregon traveled to Durham and beat No. 7 Temple 71-70, then host team Duke 74-65 to advance.

None of the current Ducks has been a part of an NCAA Tournament underdog story. In fact, senior center Phillipina Kyei is the only Oregon player who has participated for the Ducks in the NCAA Tournament.

What they’re hearing from Graves is a message he’s relayed many times heading into postseason.

“It doesn’t matter what your seed is, doesn’t matter who you’re playing, or where you’re playing. Anything can happen in March, and we’ve seen in every single year,” senior guard Peyton Scott said.

The Graves message?

“Just have fun,” he said. “Seriously, have fun.”